Results
2005 ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
September, Manila

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The Bali Geckos were proud runners-up in the 2005 Asian Australian Rules Football Championships held in Manila recently. The Geckos were defeated by the Singapore Wombats in the Grand Final 7.3 (45) to 2.4 (16). Singapore were strong favourites for the event, helped by a large squad of 40 players. Watched by over 700 onlookers, including the Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Mr. Tony Hely, the Wombats proved to good for the determined Geckos in the final.

Nine teams participated in the event, including Hong Kong Dragons, Singapore Wombats, Malaysian Warriors, Thailand Tigers, Jakarta Bintangs, Bali Geckos, China/Shanghai Tigers, Japan Goannas and the Philippine Eagles. Under warm and dryer-than-expected conditions the teams battled through four qualifying rounds each to determine the two Grand Finalists. Bali Gecko’s excellent performance in qualifying for the grand final surprised many as they had a small squad and are relative newcomers to the Asian Championships.

“I am very happy with our performance, and hopefully we can go one better next year” said Geckos’ coach Peter Muir. Muir went on to thank the club’s sponsors, Air Paradise, Paul Turner Lighting and Lightcom.

The Thriller in Manila Tour Report

Our “Thriller in Manila” 2005 Asian Championships tour started with an early morning flight. A few calls had to be made to ensure that all arrived at the airport on time. Naturally players made the most out of the refreshments available on the flight. A brief transit in Hong Kong and then we were off to Manila. We were greeted at the airport not by the bus arranged by the event organizers, but by Sammy and Tom Gosling, who had caught an alternative flight. Much to the delight of the Geckos the gosling’s distributed a bag full of cans as we waited for transport. Gun noticed a bus in the distance with a sign indicating it was for the Hong Kong Dragons. A Geckos sticker was stuck on the sign and all boarded the bus to head to the hotel – our first victory for the weekend.

A stop off at the 7 eleven for drink refills on the way and apart from a few problems with the hotel rooms we had booked (they did not have any left) and a few problems with Sammy “the drunkest man on tour” Gosling, we soon gathered to watch the elimination final on TV and to scoff at the coach's order of no consuming spirits after 9pm. Luckily it was only the coach and the captain who did not abide to this rule, with a couple of sneaky early morning bourbons.

Game 1 - vs Hong Kong Dragons

Bali Geckos 3.2 (20)
Hong Kong Dragons 3.1 (19)

The Geckos had to not only contend with being drawn the first game at 8am, but also the fact that we were up against the winners of the past two Asian Championships, the Hong Kong Dragons. Although the Dragons got the first two goals of the match, the Geckos persisted with determined football and closed the margin on the scoreboard. Courtenay played stepladder for a Dragon player, copping a knee in the back of the head for his troubles. He was later patched up with an Egyptian Mummy style head wrap which he had to wear, to the amusement of many, for the rest of the day. Tallen’s goal from a set shot from 60m put the Geckos within striking range and despite a number of big grabs taken by the Dragons, the Geckos managed to get a goal in the dying minutes of the game to come out victors by 1 point.

Game 2 - vs China (Shanghai)Tigers

Bali Geckos 3.5 (23)
China 1.1 (7)

The Tigers had the better of the Geckos in the first half. A few unlucky bounces in our goal square resulted in points, and Geckos full forward Hendo’s missed from point blank range. Going into half-time, the Geckos were by no means looking to win the match. PD starting getting a bit of the ball in the second half, a highlight being him spinning out of four would be tacklers before kicking a goal. With consistent ‘hard at the ball’ play, the Geckos slowly got ahead of China on the scoreboard.

Game 3 - vs Japan Goannas

Japan Goannas 3.0 (18)
Bali Geckos 2.3 (15)

Geckos had much of the play in the first half but a number of forward attacks missed the target. Our cause was not helped with three free kicks given away in front of goals by our defenders, which saw us go into the half time break behind by a few goals.

Poor umpiring continued in the second half with a number of obvious free kicks within scoring range not paid to the Geckos, including a 50-metre penalty not awarded because, according to the umpire, it “was Asian footy”. A highlight of the second half was a terrific pack mark by Gecko ruckman Tallen. Later he
followed up with a great goal that was deemed touched by the umpire. Moments later Gun followed with a left foot goal on the run, but it was too late for the Geckos going down by three points at the final siren.

Game 4- vs Jakarta Bintangs

Bali Geckos 4.3 (27)
Jakarta Bintangs 2.1 (13)

The Bintangs were keen to get some respect back after their 14 goal drubbing by the Geckos four weeks before. The cloud thinned to see the game be played in the hottest part of the day, further testing player endurance. Poo Carroll was working well in the centre and Gun rebounded a number of attacks from the
Bintangs. Stiffy was given a tagging role on key Bintang Chris Bandy and once again came out on top, limiting his opponent to one kick, and that was out on the full.

With three wins and one loss, the Geckos had to rely on Thailand defeating
Japan in the last game to advance into the final. The lead swapped a few times in
the last quarter, but luckily for the Geckos, Thailand won and the Geckos were in
the final.

Final - Vs Singapore Wombats

Singapore Wombats 7.3 (45)
Bali Geckos 2.4 (16)

Singapore had played very well during and the day, easily defeating all of their opponents and with a squad of almost 40 players, they had more run in their legs and were going to be a hard game for the Geckos. The Geckos, who were crowd favorites, got off to a great start with Tallen dominating the ruck and continually feeding the ball down Matty’s throat. Although Matty was then pounced upon by five Singapore players every time, we still managed to get the ball out of the middle for most of the first half. Hinchy was seeing stars after courageously backing into a marking contest with Wombats’ key forward Andrew Taylor. Gun later evened the score for Hinchy when an attempted spoil almost knocked one of Taylor’s teeth out. Although we had a lot of the ball and went into our forward line much more than the Wombats, the results did not show on the scoreboard at half time.

The Geckos were looking to run the ball into the breeze in the second half, but with fatigue taking its toll it was not going to be an easy task. The Wombats piled on a few quick goals early after half time. Although a few goals behind, the Geckos continued to persevere. Tallen took another ‘mark of the day’ contender with a strong pack mark, and Courtney kicked a Daicos-like goal off the ground (Peter Daicos was actually umpiring the final, and showed that a good player does not necessarily make a good umpire). In the end The Wombats proved to be the better team on the day with a 5 goal victory.

Having gained a lot of respect from those in attendance and from the Wombats, who later said that we were by far their hardest and most physical game for the day, we proudly accepted our runners-up medals. Once again a big step forward for the club, and we can look forward to winning the Asian Championships 2006!